The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (Tetfund) has announced the suspension of foreign scholarships for lecturers in tertiary institutions nationwide, effective January 1, 2025, over rising costs of funding lecturers’ training abroad and the growing problem of abscondment among scholars.
Sonny Echono, the Executive Secretary, Tetfund, made the announcement in a circular dated November 25, 2024.
“In response to the excessive cost of training in foreign institutions, coupled with the high rate of abscondment of scholars, the board of trustees of the fund has approved the suspension of foreign component of the TETFund Scholarship for Academic Staff (TSAS) Intervention.”
Echono noted that the suspension would deepen efforts to save resources while “reducing pressure on the foreign exchange rate and boosting investment and local capacity in the Nigerian tertiary institutions.”
He advised beneficiary institutions to implement their training locally, noting that the suspension would increase the number of programme beneficiaries.
The ES had, in October, disclosed that over 4,980 academics from Nigerian public universities received N10.8 billion worth of scholarships for masters, doctoral and post-doctoral degrees, among others, between June 2023 and July 2024.
He noted that no fewer than 137 lecturers absconded to pursue other opportunities abroad, using the board as a stepping stone to leave the country for better opportunities.
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